The third Asian Athletics Championships were held in 1979 in Tokyo, Japan.
Medal summary
Men's events
Women's events
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Japan (JPN) | 20 | 18 | 21 | 59 |
| 2 |  People's Republic of China | 7 | 8 | 3 | 18 |
| 3 |  Iraq (IRQ) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 |  India (IND) | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| 5 |  North Korea (PRK) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
 South Korea (KOR) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| 7 |  Thailand (THA) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 |  Kuwait (KUW) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  Malaysia (MAS) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 |  Philippines (PHI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (10 entries) | 38 | 38 | 38 | 114 | |